Whilst the houses in Roedean Drive, Romford look traditional, this innovative development represents an entirely new, ground breaking approach to house building. They follow the successful pilot project in which a pair of semi-detached houses were built off-site as interlocking modules in only three weeks, and assembled on site in just five days – the UK’s first factory finished volumetric two-storey semi’s.

This warm roof construction created an unobstructed roof space – and the opportunity for tenants to convert this into an extra room.

The Egan Agenda

The development at Roedean Drive was a joint venture between The Guinness Trust, George Wimpey and Britspace Modular Building Systems.

It provides 23 houses plus one block of flats for social landlord the Guinness Trust.

This linkage between house-builder, building manufacturer and housing association, as well as the modular form of construction, meets the Egan agenda, as set out in ‘Re-thinking Construction’. Most importantly, the development also goes a long way towards the ‘zero defects’ criteria of the Egan Report. There were no snagging problems and an exceptional finish was achieved due to construction in factory conditions

Decra Leading Technology

Decra Roof Systems played a key role in the development of the modular roof system, providing the technical and design input for the roof construction that enabled the original ‘proof of principle’ modular development to be achieved.

Similarly, at only a seventh of the weight of concrete tiles, Decra tiles were vital for the viability of off-site roof construction. At Roedean Drive, Decra Classic tiles in terracotta were selected for six pairs of houses and one detached house. Decra Stratos in charcoal grey were chosen for another five pairs of semi’s.